CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
OF SERVICE

The Shaker Heights Youth Center, a community organization serving students from elementary through high school, lacked a cohesive visual identity for its 50th-anniversary celebration. The Center had long provided essential after-school programs and substance abuse education to students in the Shaker Heights School District, but its communications, particularly its annual report, didn't reflect the warmth, vibrancy, and legacy of its work. Outdated materials struggled to engage the broader community or convey the energy of its mission.

I began working with the Youth Center in 2020, brought on to lead design direction for the 50th-anniversary campaign. With full creative freedom, I worked closely with the team to understand their values: community-first, youth-focused, and future-oriented. Drawing on the developmental stages of childhood, I built a visual system around building blocks, with bold patterns, bright complementary colors, and a thoughtful expansion of the iconic red square logo. For typography, I chose a typewriter-style font with a modern edge, a nod to the tools the Center once used that bridged past and present. The centerpiece was a complete redesign of the annual report, which now reflected both legacy and forward momentum.

The refreshed campaign, spanning social media, web assets, and the redesigned annual report, was met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Community members requested physical copies of the report and merchandise featuring the new designs. The campaign reintroduced the Youth Center to the public in a way that felt both nostalgic and revitalizing, capturing the spirit of its next 50 years.

This project reinforced the importance of listening deeply to an organization's history and values before building its visual future. I learned how design can become a storytelling tool that doesn't just inform but inspires. Earning the Youth Center's trust to shape its public-facing materials was an honor, and it reminded me how meaningful design becomes when it reflects the people it serves.